A-1 Variance Request for Building at Fayette and 4th Denied

The Effingham City Zoning Board of Appeals voted Tuesday to deny a petition for a parking variance for Effingham Shakti Corporation, which operates A-1 Liquors at Fayette and 4th.

A-1's current location will be taken down as part of the Fayette Avenue reconstruction. Effingham Shakti Corporation purchased the former Johnson Funeral Home building north across Fayette from the current A-1 location. The firm would like to build a new facility on that site, but their plans would require more parking than is normally permitted.

Several people testified against granting the variance, due to concerns existing parking would be taken by the project. Those who spoke included Carla Doll of the Downtown Effingham Association, Dave Doedtman of Washington Savings Bank, Michael Brummer of the XChange, Lisa Schafer of Baseball Card Connection, and Brennan Debenham of Joe Sipper's Cafe and Roastery.

Three individuals spoke on behalf of the project.

The thrust of the objections was the potential loss of parking, not against A-1 Liquors. The petition had been modified from when the issue was originally considered in July and reduced in scope, requesting 81 parking spaces, but the variance in parking requirements was still needed. There is uncertainty as to whether parking spaces will be possible on the current A-1 property once the Fayette project is completed.

The request was denied on a 6-1 vote, with Board Member Andy St. John voting against the denial.

The other three requests for variances were granted. 

One is for the location of an accessory building in the front yard of property owned by James Barbee at 15210 North Monocot Street. The thought was that the location is the only spot for the building on the property without considerable tree removal.

Another is for an addition to a non-conforming building for Janice Hester and Douglas Murrell at 308 East Eiche Avenue. The addition would be used for storage. Under the variance, if the building is damaged by fire or other disaster, it could not be rebuilt unless it conforms with zoning or another variance is obtained.

The other variance granted is to replace the existing static billboard at 1905 South Banker with an electronic billboard, as requested by The Lamar Companies. Board Member Mark Thies voted No.